Name:Class notes
Block:
The Western USA
Main Idea: The availability and distribution of ______affect where people live and work in the West.
Breathtaking Landscape
- ______mountains & their towering snow-capped peaks
- Rivers have carved spectacular canyons
- Broad plains
- Massive glaciers in the Alaskan waters
- Smoking ______in the Hawaiian land
Available Water
- Physical characteristic that most affects the West is ______
- There is either an abundance or ______of water
- Major factor in shaping the West’s natural vegetation, economic activity, and
______density
- Most of West has arid or semiarid climate
Vegetation
- In ______areas, the natural vegetation consists of short grasses, hardy shrubs, sagebush, and cactus.
- Ex. ______, CA (9 inches of rain per yr)
- In areas that receive more rainfall, deciduous and coniferous forests can be found.
- Ex. ______, WA (39 inches of rain per yr)
Hawaii and Alaska: A World Apart
- Hawaii = wet ______climate and dense tropical rainforest vegetation
- Alaska = the ______in its Northern region is a dry, treeless plain that sprouts grasses and moss only in summer
Natural Resources
- Mining: ______are found in the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada
- Gold, silver, uranium
- Rumors of finding gold drew people to the region
- Most was too deep undergound so mining companies were more successful
- Natural gas and ______can also be found
- Major oil field in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska
- ______and commercial fishing
- Half of the nation’s construction lumber
Western Cities
- 1869: Transcontinental ______spurred the growth of towns and cities along the tracks
- A higher percentage of people prefer to live in ______because of the harsh landscape and climate
- Los Angeles, CA is the nation’s ______largest city
- Began as a cattle town, providing beef for people during the Gold Rush.
- Has to obtain water via aqueducts (large pipes that carry water over long distances)
Conquering Western Distances
- Alaska
- ______state, but least populated
- Very few roads
- Juneau, the state’s capital, can only be reached by ______or airplane
- Anchorage, a city of more than 250,000, has only ______roads leading out of town.
- Hawaii
- 8 main islands and more than 100 smaller islands
- More than 2,000 miles from the US mainland
- Hawaii’s distant location drew the attention of the US government in the late _____
- US wanted to control islands it could use as refueling stations for its ships when
trading with ______and Japan
- 1959: Hawaii became the ______state
- Jet travel has made Hawaii popular with tourists from North America and Asia
Review Questions
- How does the abundance or scarcity of water resources affect the natural vegetation in the West?
- What major natural resources have influenced economic activity in the western United States?
- How have geography and distance affected where people live and work in the region?
- What might be the consequences of continued population growth in the West?